Mike Trout's New Contract May Have Been A Form Of Punishment For Rejecting A Better Offer

Getty Images/Otto Greule JrMike Trout, who finished second in the American League MVP voting last year, will make just $510,000 this season. While this is standard practice for a young player, one source told Ken Rosenthal of FoxSports.com that the deal was a form of punishment for rejecting a better offer.

In Major League Baseball, most players make at or near the big league minimum ($490,000 in 2013) in their first three seasons*. And even though the Angels were under no obligation to offer more, Trout wanted a $1 million salary in 2013, which would have been a record for a player with such little experience.

The source told Rosenthal that the Angels did offer Trout a contract greater than $510,000, their self-imposed limit for players in their second season. However, when Trout rejected that offer, they automatically renewed his deal at the lower mark "as a punitive measure."

There is a lot of time to mend fences before Trout is eligible for free agency and the Angels have to get serious about their contract offers. But this is not a good start to the relationship between the best young player in the game and the front office.

* In their next three seasons, they are eligible to have their salaries determined by an arbitrator, and after six seasons, they are eligible for free agency.